Snow blower rotor



A. C. IBISCH SNOW BLOWER ROTOR Jan. 28, 1969 Sheet Filed Dec. 9, 1966INVENTOR ALVIN C. IBISCH gw 7PM Jan. 28, 1969 A. c. IBISCH 3,423,357v

snow BLOWER ROTOR Filed Dec. 9, 1966 Sheet 2 of 2 l9 u v INVENTOR ALVINC. IBISCH F157, J 8 i 7%.-

ATTORNEY 3,423,857 SNOW BLOWER ROTOR Alvin C. lbisch, 347 MiddletonRoad, Columbus, Wis. 53925 Filed Dec. 9, 1966, Ser. No. 600,639 US. Cl.37-43 Int. Cl. E01h 5/09 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Crossreference to related application This application is directed to animproved rotor construction for rotary snow blowing apparatus such asdescribed in my copending application, Ser. No. 359,254 filed Apr. 13,1964, now US. Patent No. 3,299,546, issued Jan. 24, 1967.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This inventionrelates generally to snow blowers and more particularly to an improvedrotor construction for snow blowers.

Description of prior art Snow blowers of the type considered hereingenerally comprise essentially a housing, a cylindrical rotor mountedtherein, a power source, and various auxiliary devices assisting in thebasic operation. The housing has a side opening in the wall thereof anda duct to convey the snow from the rotor. While these devices arecommonly referred to as blowers, they rely largely on centrifugal force,imparted to the snow by means of radially disposed impellers or paddleswithin the rotor. Snow is drawn into the impeller portion of the rotorby cutting blades aflixed to the forward portion of the rotor. Theblower assembly is pushed through snow with the axis of rotation of therotor extending along the line of advance. Usually, some form of scoopis affixed to the forward portion of the blower housing to increase theeffective removal area by funneling the snow into the rotor as theassembly is advanced through the snow.

The most important part of a snow blower is the rotor. -Its design andoperation will generally determine the capacity and speed of snowremoval, as well as the overall efficiency of operation. The size,weight and corresponding torque requirements for a rotor of a givencapacity are also largely determined by the design thereof. Substantialsavings therefrom are to be realized with a properly designed rotor,both from the standpoint of power consumption and from the improvedoperating characteristics of the blower apparatus.

In most known rotors, the blades occupy only a portion of the radius ofthe circle defined by the blades, a substantial portion of the centergenerally being used as a structural connecting member for the bladesand providing little or no cutting action. This disadvantage may notsubstantially effect operating efficiency where United States Patent 0the rotor is quite large and where the snow to be removed is relativelyshallow in comparison thereto, however, where the snow is as deep as thediameter of the rotor, the operating efficiency is markedly decreased,since only a portion of the rotor face is effectively drawing snowdirectly into the paddles for discharge.

Another difficulty is presented with known rotors where deep snow isencountered and funneling means such as a scoop are used to direct anexpanded cross-sectional area of snow into the rotor, particularly wherethe snow is wet and heavy. Such snow readily coheres under slightpressure and forms a compacted mass. The sides of the scoop generallypresent an angle of about 30 to the axis of advance and create asuflicient vectorial friction force to compact a quantity of snowdirectly in front of the scoop surface and assuming the generalconfiguration of the scoop.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Generally, the concept of my invention is toprovide a snow blower rotor having the central portions of its cuttingblades extending substantially forward of the outer portions of theblades and the front edge of the cylindrical rotor housing for removinga core of snow within the volume subtended by the scoop and fordirecting incoming snow to the periphery of the rotor.

I have found that a rotor blade design having, in side elevation, agenerally parabolic configuration with the apex projecting forward atthe axis of rotation is uniquely suitable for efficient operation.

My particular rotor construction also results in the peripheral portionsof the cutting blades being angularly disposed toward the circumferenceof the rotor, thereby presenting outwardly extending cutting edges forcutting into the snow which is being funneled inwardly toward thecircumference of the rotor by the scoop of the snow blower.

Other objects, features and advantages of my invention will be apparentfrom the following detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein a preferred embodiment of the principlesof my invention has been selected for exemplification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a snowblower rotor embodying my invention.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the rotor of FIG. I mounted in atypical blower assembly having a rectangular scoop.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the rotor of FIG. 1 in a cylindrical rotorhousing with a forward projecting scoop, the housing and scoop beingshown in section.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the rotor of FIG. 1 taken along sectionline 4-4 of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more particularly tothe drawings wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout theseveral views, my novel rotor is generally shown at 10 in FIG. 1. Therotor 10 basically comprises a drive shaft 11, a circular back plate 12,a plurality of generally radially disposed paddles 13, a plurality offorward cutting blades 14, and circumferential connecting members 1-5.The various parts of my rotor are preferably constructed of steel andare rigidly connected together by any suitable means, such as welding,bolting, riveting or the like.

As best seen in FIGS. 24, the back plate 12 is substantially flat andcircular and is slightly smaller in diameter than the cylindrical rotorhousing 16 in which it rotates. The rotor housing has a tangentialdischarge opening 16a and discharge pipe 16b for discharging snow fromthe rotor housing.

The paddles 13 are substantially rectangular in configuration and areaffixed to the forward face 12a of the back plate 12 at their rear edgesby welding or other suitable means. Three such paddles are shown in thedrawings but the invention is not limited to that number. The paddlesare spaced equaly on the forward face 12a of the back plate 12 and aresubstantially perpendicular to it. The paddles extend tangentially aboutthe drive shaft 11 and are atfixed thereto by welding or other suitablemeans. The paddles are somewhat longer than the radius of the back plate12 and the inner edges 13a thereof extend beyond the point of tangentialcontact with the drive shaft 11 and abut the face of the next adjoiningpaddle. The paddles 13 are connected to each other at this point ofcontact by welding or other suitable means. Pockets 17 having theapproximate configuration of a section of a cylinder are formed betweenadjacent paddles.

The tangential relation of the paddles 13 to the rotating shaft 11serves two distinct functions. Firstly, such construction permits eachof paddles 13 to be fixedly joined to the rotating shaft 11 and to oneof the adjacent paddles adding materially to the strength of the rotorstructure. Secondly, the tangential placement of the paddles angles themfrom a radial line drawn between the center of the rotating shaft 11 andthe outer edge 13b of a paddle. With the direction of rotation asindicated by the arrow in FIG. 4, the paddles are forwardly disposed,using the terminology generally applied to centrifugal fans. The vectoranalysis applied to air flow from the blades in centrifugal fans clearlyindicates that the resultant velocities are greater from forwardlydisposed blades than from those which are rearwardly disposed. The snowflow from my rotor is considerably increased by the particular forwardlydisposed paddles arrangement shown.

Another important feature of my rotor 10 is the opening 13c provided inthe inner portion of each paddle. Preferably, these openings 130 areapproximately onehalf the width of the paddles 13 and extend aboutonethird of the length thereof. The openings 130 permit incoming snow tobe distributed to adjacent pockets. This feature materially reducesvibration during operation and assures a more uniform flow of snow fromthe blower. A further advantage attributed to the openings 130 is thatthe moment of inertia of the rotor is moved outwardly, increasing theangular momentum and generally making the speed of rotation more uniformunder constantly varying loads.

A plurality of small fins 18 are secured at equally spaced intervalsaround the rear face 12b of the back plate 12, as shown in FIG. 3. Thesefins 18 help expel any snow that may seep behind the back plate 12,thus, eliminating a source of friction.

A most important novel aspect of my rotor is the design of the cuttingblades 14. In side elevation, the blades 14 extend parabolically outwardin front of the rotor housing 16. As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, thecutting edges 19 of the blades 14 extend across the entire width of therotor face. The blades 14 are curved to direct the incoming snow towardthe outermost portion of the rotor paddles 13. Each blade 14 has aleading or cutting edge 19, a trailing edge 20, and a circumferentialedge 21. The blades 14 have a first substantially flat portion 14aadjacent to the trailing edge 20 and approximately parallel to the backplate 12. The second portion 14b is adjacent to and includes all of thecutting edge 19 and has a generally reverse curve configuration. Theinner or central portions 19a of cutting edges 19 are disposedsubstantially forward and curve backwardly into outer edge portions 19bwhich face outwardly toward the side of the rotor. The blades 14 arejoined at the center 22 of the rotor by welding or other suitableattaching means. It

is readily seen that the cutting edges 19 of my novel rotor sweep oversubstantially the entire circular area of the rotor; which is a distinctadvantage over present rotors, which generally have substantialnonfunctional center portions. In addition, having the central portionof the rotor projecting forwardly of the outer portion causes the coreof the snow encountered to be removed, thus greatly enhancing theefficiency of operation.

The reverse curve configuration of portions 14b of the blades 14 directsthe incoming snow toward the outer portions of the pockets 17 formed bythe paddles 13 to reduce the amount of work which must be done by thepaddles.

That portion of the trailing edge 20 defined by the flat portion 14a ofeach blade 14 is connected to the forward edge of an adjacent paddle 13by welding or other suitable means.

As best seen in FIG. 2, the outer portion 19b of the cutting edges 19follow the trailing edge 20 of the blades immediately preceding it. Thecutting and trailing edges of adjacent blades are joined bycircumferential connecting rods 15. These rods 15 are curved to thegeneral circumference of the rotor and may be connected by welding orother suitable means to the backside of the flat portions 14a along thecircumferential edges 21 of one blade and to the portion 14b of thefollowing blade.

Cutting teeth 23 may be provided on each of the blades 14 to assist incutting snow from the volume subtended by the funneling scoop 24attached to the front of the cylindrical rotor housing 16. The teeth 23protrude outwardly from the cutting edge 19 of each blade 14. The teeth23 are positioned near the circumferential edges of the blades 14 sotheir cutting is directed at an outward angle. The teeth may extendradially outward to a point generally coincident with the circumferenceof the rotor or beyond if desired since they are forward of the rotorhousing. The cutting action of the teeth 23 is particularly helpfulwhere deep compacted snow is being directed into the periphery of therotor by the scoop 24. In combination with the forward projecting blades14, the teeth 23 create a cavity in front of the rotor housing 16 intowhich snow may be funneled from all directions without obstruction.While a single tooth is shown on each of blades 14 a plurality of teethmay be employed if desired.

It is understood that my invention is not confined to the particularconstruction and arrangement of parts illustrated and described, butembraces all such modified forms thereof as come within the scope of thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. In a rotary snow blower having a substantially cylindrical rotorhousing, a rotor comprising:

(a) drive shaft extending along the axis of rotation of said rotor,

(b) a substantially circular back plate having a front face and a rearface and extending perpendicular to said drive shaft,

(c) a plurality of paddles having a front edge and a rear edge and beingsecured at said rear edge to the front face of said back plate insubstantially perpendicular relation to form a plurality of outwardlyopening pockets, and

(d) a plurality of cutting blades for drawing snow into said pockets,

(i) said cutting blades each having a reversed curved portion forming acutting edge and having a substantially flat portion extendingperpendicular to said paddles and being fixedly attached to the frontedge of said paddles to prevent snow from escaping forwardly of theblower,

(ii) the cutting edges of said blades being joined together at the axisof rotation of said rotor and extending outwardly and rearwardlytherefrom to the circumference of the rotor,

5 (iii) said cutting edges facing substantially to the 2,681,516 frontalong approximately the inner one-half of 3,299,546 their length andsubstantially sidewardly along approximately the outer one-half of theirlength. 5 313,929 References Cited 739159 UNITED STATES PATENTS 436,2049/1890 Bergendahl 3721 1,698,901 1/1929 Zinn 37-43 10 2,047,659 6/1936Zaremba 3743 2,269,326 1/ 1942 Wandscheer 37-43 302 38 6 6/1954 Bourne37-43 1/ 1967 Ibisch 3743 FOREIGN PATENTS 7/1956 Switzerland. 7/1966Canada.

ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner. EUGENE H. EICKHOLT, AssistantExaminer.

US. Cl. X.R.

